Issues and Trends in On-Campus Management and Operations

From left, Marilyn Tyus, housing director at the University of Michigan; TJ Logan, associate vice president for student affairs at Temple University; Mike Selby, COO of University Student Housing LLC; Courtney Redmond, regional director of RISE: A Real Estate Company; Adam Scarbro, director of residence life and customer care at Landmark Properties; and Kelly Young, director of operations and development at Bluffstone.

Philadelphia — When discussing public-private partnerships, the dominant portion of the discussion largely focuses on the physical execution of the development — from the planning period, to construction and on-time delivery. Equally crucial to a successful P3 development is what happens after the doors are open and students have arrived to move into their homes away from home.

Last month’s InterFace On-Campus Housing conference in Philadelphia brought together a panel of experts on the subject moderated by Kelly Young, director of operations and development at Bluffstone.

The panel’s first topic began with the question of when the operations and residence life team would like to be a part of the conversation as it pertains to a new P3 development.

“I want to be there the first day that everyone is at the table,” said Marilyn Tyus, housing director at the University of Michigan. “One of the challenges we have found as we’ve started to deal with P3s and the administration is that residential life is not at the table until further down the road. I think the information that the residence life staff can bring to the table needs to be there on the very first day.”

“I think part of the challenge is the chasm between private developers and very traditional on-campus housing folks,” said TJ Logan, the associate vice president for student affairs at Temple University. “There’s often a gap in terms of knowledge and understanding and this thought that P3s are the evil, bad guy. Until we gain a greater understanding, we’re not going to make our way to that table fast enough to be able to have those conversations early.”

Of the discussions that need to be had with residence life at the early stages of a P3 development, what responsibilities need to be retained by the university tops the list. “There are some responsibilities that the university just needs to retain,” said Tyus. “Safety and security — we need to control that. Data and bandwidth is another responsibility that needs to be retained by the university. We can’t have the living conditions different in a P3 development versus the rest of the campus because some students are going to question why they don’t have as many amenities or a certain administration. The flexibilities and inflexibilities need to be on the table early on.”

“From where we all sit, we all have the same mission — student success,” said Young. “It’s safe environments for learning and living.” When it comes to delivering this environment, a lot of different aspects of residence life and programming are at play.

“An overarching theme of engagement needs to be present everywhere,” said Adam Scarbro, director of residence life and customer care at Landmark Properties. “The building needs to engage with the students, and the events and programming at the property need to engage with the students. If you’re looking at an educational focus or learning community focus — regardless of style — the engagement of the student should be constant until they lay their head down and rest. We can weave this into the design, operation and staff — getting them to understand, along with their core job responsibilities of maintaining the property, that they have an opportunity and engagement level that is far beyond. That is the gift of the job.”

This engagement should reach every student at the property. “From a programming standpoint, trying to find something that reaches everyone is a little bit of a challenge, but those students that we don’t see more often, we’re really making an intentional approach to figuring out how to reach them,” said Courtney Redmond, regional director of RISE: A Real Estate Company. “You might have weekly gatherings, but being more intentional from the educational side with tutoring sessions or FASFA nights and helping students to really get ahead of things is important. We are an extension of the university, so constantly learning and teaching and training our residents is part of that as well.”

“From the approach of a toolkit that we give our programming colleagues, the era of big amenities might be over,” said Mike Selby, COO of University Student Housing LLC. “It’s about giving spaces and the tools to our programming partners so that they can achieve the engagement and the intentional targeting of student sub-populations that need to have programming opportunities. That’s the challenge that we have now — making sure that we are offering those types of spaces, whether it’s a theater that can be used for brown bag lunch and discussions or other sort of lecture-type activities. We want to address physical, mental and spiritual fitness.”

Understanding the mindset of the student population is integral to planning events and programming for everyone at your property. “One of the primary things that we need to first look at is do we understand the culture of the institution,” said Tyus. “It’s not cookie cutter — certain institutions need different types of engagement spaces, and if the conversation hasn’t occurred about what the culture is, then I think we might miss what the engagement needs to be. They need to be intentional, and we have to name it. The students have to know how to use it — they don’t know how to use it if they don’t know what it is. Space, in general, is very important. When we talk about building new facilities, the first thing we talk about is what engagement spaces are needed to make these buildings live and what the students would thrive in.”

Popular engagement spaces noted by the panelists include small rooms that allow for studying or small group meetings, soundproofed music rooms and specialized fitness spaces like yoga studios. Offering a variety of spaces in different sizes and designs, with and without designated purposes and technological components are also important to attracting students.

Richmond, Va. — Campus Apartments has acquired The Collection Midtown, a portfolio of 20 apartment buildings located within Richmond’s Fan and Museum District near Virginia Commonwealth University, for $31 million.

Rexburg, Idaho — Greystone has provided a $28.2 million Fannie Mae DUS loan for the acquisition of Northpoint Apartments, a student housing property located near Brigham Young University-Idaho in Rexburg.

Dallas — Student Housing Business and the InterFace Conference Group are pleased to announce the launch of a new niche conference — SHB LeaseCon: A Social Media, Digital & Traditional Marketing Boot Camp —…

Morgantown, W.V. — Highland Realty Capital has arranged a $10.3 million bridge loan for The Ridge at Morgantown, a 644-bed student housing community located near West Virginia University in Morgantown.

Orlando, Fla. — Preferred Apartment Communities Inc. (PAC) has acquired The Retreat at Orlando, an 894-bed, cottage-style student housing community located near the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Champaign, Ill. — Gilbane Development Company has broken ground on Octave, a 538-bed student housing community located two blocks from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus in Champaign.

Lafayette, La. — The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and RISE: A Real Estate Company have broken ground on a 281,000-square-foot mixed-use development located on the university’s campus in Lafayette.

Athens, Ga. — HFF has arranged the $30.4 million recapitalization of River Club Apartments and River Club Townhomes, two student housing communities operated as a single property near the University of…

Fairhope, Alabama — Leeman Covey has announced his retirement as president and CEO of the Collegiate Housing Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Fairhope, Alabama, that works to assist colleges and…

Toronto and Chicago — In an effort to expand its global investment management platform, Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI) has agreed to acquire 75 percent of Harrison Street Real Estate…

College Station, Texas — Preferred Campus Communities, a wholly owned subsidiary of Preferred Apartment Communities, has acquired The Tradition, an 808-bed student housing community located one block away from the Texas…

Pittsburgh — Duquesne University has finalized the sale of Brottier Hall, an apartment-style residence hall located on the university’s campus in Pittsburgh, to Radnor Property Group and Harrison Street Real Estate…

Washington, D.C. — Howard University and Corvias have announced the completion of renovations at Howard Plaza Towers East, a 1,163-bed residence hall located on the university’s campus in Washington, D.C.

Austin, Texas — Asset Campus Housing has been awarded management of Ballpark Apartments, which consists of several student communities in central Austin, including Ballpark East, Ballpark South and Ballpark West.

Atlanta — The University System of Georgia has released a request for qualified concessionaires (RFQC) for a student housing public-private partnership for seven University System of Georgia institutions.

Sacramento, Calif. — GMH Capital Partners and AGC Equity Partners have announced plans for The Academy on 65th, a 305-bed student housing community located near California State University – Sacramento.

Miami — The pedestrian bridge set to connect University Bridge Residences — a student housing development currently underway by a joint venture including University Developments — to Florida International University…

Atlanta — Summit Contracting Group, a multifamily general contractor, has started construction on Theory West Midtown, a student housing community located near the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

Chicago — Peak Campus has been awarded management of The Flats at East-West University, a 240-bed, on-campus student housing community located at East-West University in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.

Hyattsville, Md. — Dubai-based Safanad Limited, in partnership with Miami-based Vie Holdings, has acquired The Towers at University Town Center, a student housing community in Hyattsville, for $69.5 million.

Bloomington, Ind. — Pillar Financial, a division of SunTrust Bank, has originated a $14.1 million refinancing for Urban Station, a 53-unit student housing community located near the University of Indiana…

Philadelphia — A joint venture between Harrison Street Real Estate Capital and Brandywine Realty Trust has sold Evo at Cira Centre South, an 850-bed student housing community located in Philadelphia’s…

New Brunswick, N.J. — FourPoint Investments and BlueGate Partners have arranged the sale of Rockoff Hall Apartments, a 674-bed student housing community located within walking distance of Rutgers University in…

Chicago — ACC and the University of Illinois at Chicago have broken ground on a living/learning community composed of a two-story academic classroom building and a 10-story undergraduate residence hall.

Charlotte, N.C. — A joint venture between The Preiss Co. and an undisclosed private investment group has acquired two student housing communities located near the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Greenville, N.C. — A joint venture between FM Capital, Gottlieb Family Partners and AMAC Holdings has acquired Captain’s Quarters, a 1,692-bed student housing community located near East Carolina University in…

Atlanta — A joint venture between Landmark Properties and CityLife Development Partners has acquired a 1.1-acre site near the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta for the development of a 28-story…